Are we making homeschooling harder than it needs to be?

I’ve been homeschooling since the very beginning, and as my oldest child moves toward turning eighteen this year I have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on how drastically my approach has changed since those first years. I carefully scoured the booths at the homeschool conferences to choose the “perfect” curriculum and read the dozens of reviews on the Cathy Duffy site, trying to find the best fit for my kids. I worried about the areas that they seemed to be so far behind where I thought they should be, and secretly looked around to see what other kids their age were doing. I questioned my capabilities.

Somewhere along the journey I started to throw things out the window. I realized that doing more for the sake of checking boxes was not the best choice for us. I came to understand that slowing down and learning about the things that interested us was the superior choice for our family. I came to the startling knowledge that it actually was ok that my children weren’t good at every subject. They didn’t need to be!

Homeschooling can be very simple.

In Deuteronomy 6 we are given a blueprint for teaching our children. We are told to teach them diligently as we go about our day. Passing on truth should be something that we do as we are living life together!

We have a most wonderful opportunity to guide our children into a life of learning. There is no expiration date on education. Learning doesn’t end at eighteen! That realization alone lifted the load of stress from my shoulders. If we give our kids a foundation of basic skills and allow their natural curiosity room to grow and mature, we have had a successful homeschooling journey.

So what does this look like in our home?

Each weekday we spend a small amount of time practicing the basics. For my younger children this happens alongside me as we snuggle on the couch learning about letters or numbers, and the exciting things that happen when they are put together. As they get older they begin working through a math curriculum on their own and we also continue reading together, taking turns reading the pages of an exciting chapter book until they reach the point where they’re reading easily on their own. Twenty minutes a day can reap great rewards when it comes to learning and perfecting skills!

My teens continue to practice basic academic skills daily. At this point I can see their personal interests and giftings taking root. We work together to decide what daily skill building would best support them and their goals. Some of my teens prefer a more traditional academic checklist to accomplish each day. Others practice skills like math or language arts in a hands on, unplanned way as they are working to make their projects or goals come to life. There is no *right way* to learn. We were created with unique personalities and interests. Some of us need to understand advanced math concepts to do the things we’re interested in, some of us never need to move past knowing the basics! As parents, observing our kids and equipping them with the skills that support their interests is giving them a great gift! Slaving through the curriculum that we bought and feel that we must finished (even though we’re miserable) is not doing anyone any good.

Learning as a family… and enjoying it

Subjects like history, geography or science are exciting to explore together as a family. There is no need to bog down your days with dry textbooks or tests to evaluate your progress. Reading books that make these topics come to life and talking about them together will make the information stick in a way that the textbook method fails to do. Rather than try to cover multiple subjects in one sitting, I stick with reading aloud to the family on just one topic each day so that we can allow the information to sink in and be digested as we move on with our personal activities.

In my early parenting years I felt uncomfortable keeping things so simple because there seemed to be so much my children “needed” to learn that I should cram as much as possible into each homeschooling day! When I realized that it wasn’t necessary (or possible!) to teach my kids everything, I was able to relax and enjoy the things we did discuss. I grew to have the confidence that my goal was simply to help my children develop a mind for learning. Then they would be able to teach themselves whatever it was that they wanted or needed to learn in the future.

Interest Led Learning

The bulk of our homeschool day is spent by each member of the family using their free time to pursue their interests, grow in character, and serve others. It is important for you Mom, as the lead learner for your children, to spend time growing in and exploring your own interests too. This could look like trying a new recipe or kitchen skill, planting a garden, writing in a journal, learning how to crochet, starting a blog, or anything else you can dream of. Your children will see you trying, failing, succeeding, and trying again, and this will give them courage to replicate that for themselves.

In addition to books and connecting with local people who have skills to share, we also use technology as a support for growing our interests. To help keep our kids focused and accountable, all of our devices are locked and kept in public locations. If a child wants to look up a website or YouTube video to learn a skill, access Google Docs to work on a story, or do anything else that is productive, we unlock a computer or iPad for them and discuss how long they think they’ll use it. Our children have taught themselves leatherworking and sewing skills, computer coding, guitar, fiddle, banjo, homesteading and mechanical skills, new recipes… the list goes on!

There doesn’t need to be a line separating learning from life. True richness is found when the two are intertwined and enjoyed, and you can begin this journey with your children right now.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply